Previous attempts have been made to provide a toothbrush with an integral supply of toothpaste that can be dispensed to the bristle area by means of compressing the toothpaste by mechanical devices located internally in the unit.
There are three main categories of this type product:
1. Toothbrushes that are totally disposable after the factory filled toothpaste is totally disposed of as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,128. PA1 2. Disposable cartridge type toothbrushes where the cartridge is the supply of toothpaste and is discarded after the supply is depleted and the supply is replenished by a replacement of a new factory filled cartridge as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,497 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,155. PA1 3. Refillable toothbrushes that can be filled by the user with a toothpaste of his choice from a standard tube of toothpaste as is illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,201,490 and 3,728,035.
The prior art toothbrushes of the dispenser type have included a variety of means for carrying the toothpaste and dispensing the toothpaste in varying amounts. Such prior art devices have had certain disadvantages which include clogging of the passageways leading to the dispensing openings which allows the toothpaste to become stiff and stale, lack of a sanitary sealable refiner device resulting in toothpaste leakage, and the user required to handle components coated in toothpaste. Toothbrushes that are not designed with sufficient capacity to supply a convenient amount of toothpaste to satisfy consumer requirements, and toothbrushes of a design not readily acceptable to the general public. Examples of prior art apparatuses and devices which are known to the applicant are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,201,490; 3,728,035; 3,256,894; 3,826,580; 4,039,261; 2,081,792; 3,228,057; and 2,750,614.
In the opinion of the applicant, the above-identified United States patents represent the closest prior art of which the applicant is aware.